About

Flter: Privacy & Security Router

$117,087

pledged of $50,000 goal

710

backers

What is a prototype?

A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:

Proof of Concept

Explorations that test ideas and functionality.

Functional Prototype

Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.

Appearance Prototype

Looks like the final product, but is not functional.

Design Prototype

Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.

Production Prototype

Appearance, function, and manufacturing methods match the final product.

Prototype Gallery

These photos and videos provide a detailed look at this project’s development.

Privacy and security is a growing concern for many people. We created Flter to make privacy and security more accessible and easier to use by providing coverage that works seamlessly across all internet connected devices.

Flter is a network device that provides VPN protection, malicious ad blocking, and Tor network anonymity. Flter works at the router level so you don’t have to install software on every device you use. This is great for devices that don’t support these applications like gaming consoles, smart TVs, and media players. All you have to do is connect to Flter via WiFi or Ethernet.

Our goal was to make a product that anyone can use, not just the tech savvy. With Flter, you can just set it and forget it. Once Flter is set up it can be left alone, and Flter works seamlessly on all the devices in your home. It’s the perfect device for everyone.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure connection between your computer and another computer over their internet. This connection encrypts all of your incoming and outgoing web traffic so no one, not even your internet provider, can see your online activity. Our servers act as middlemen that hide your IP address from the websites you visit and the services you use.

“I don’t have anything to hide”

As I've debated this issue around the world, every single time somebody has said to me, 'I don't really worry about invasions of privacy because I don't have anything to hide,' I always say the same thing to them.

I get out a pen. I write down my email address. I say, 'Here's my email address. What I want you to do when you get home is email me the passwords to all of your email accounts, not just the nice, respectable work one in your name, but all of them, because I want to be able to just troll through what it is you're doing online, read what I want to read and publish whatever I find interesting. After all, if you're not a bad person, if you're doing nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide.'

Not a single person has taken me up on that offer. I check that email account religiously all the time. It's a very desolate place.”

-Glenn Greenwald

We believe you shouldn’t have to trade privacy and security for a great user experience. We’ve been working for the past year to integrate our VPN and Flter so that they work seamlessly together. We offer full peer to peer support and unlimited bandwidth. We have servers in over 20 countries to provide near-instant connection and fast speeds. You’ll never notice it’s there. Our service also includes Tor bridge relay and socks5 proxy. Every reward tier comes with a year of our VPN service. You can use our VPN with Flter and on any of your devices while not at home.

We want to emphasize the fact that we don’t keep any logs on user web activity and all of the traffic through our network is encrypted. Read about our stance on privacy.

Flter does however support OpenVPN, OpenConnect, L2TP/IPsec if you prefer to use your own VPN service.

The Tor network is a group of volunteer-operated servers that allows people to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. Tor's users employ this network by connecting through a series of virtual tunnels rather than making a direct connection, thus allowing both organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy. Learn more about Tor here.

Flter maintains lists of malicious websites, harmful ad networks, trackers, malware, and telemetry services. Flter automatically blocks any incoming connections these services try to make. Infected advertising is a huge threat, but with Flter you’ll never see a malicious ad again. You can create your own lists or whitelist sites to support your favorite content providers. Parents can also create their own lists if they wish to block certain websites from their family network.

For ease of use all block lists and security features are kept up to date automatically. You can turn this off at anytime.

The Flter app for iOS and Android, and the web interface, allows you to switch between connection modes or configure more advanced settings.

Flter couldn’t be easier to set up. Flter works with any router/modem. To run all of your network traffic through Flter, connect it between your modem and router. Plug in the power and you’re all set, Flter will start working automatically and can be configured within the app. To connect to Flter as a separate WiFi access point plug Flter into an ethernet-out port of your router or modem. For easy VPN protection switch between your home router’s WiFi and Flter’s. In relay mode Flter can connect to your home WiFi and extend the range for a stronger WiFi signal.

Once connected you can operate Flter entirely from the app or web interface. Touch the slider and Flter will automatically connect to the closest region. If you want to connect to a specific region to get around geographic restrictions select the region of choice. Flter will connect all of your devices to the selected region.

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Founded in 2015, our company consists of four talented and passionate team members all with the same vision: providing people with peace-of-mind and security on the internet. As we began digging deeper into problems linked with data collection the primary challenge we tackled was how to make privacy and security simple and protect all internet connected devices. Read more about us here.

We have a great idea, and a great team working to make Flter the best it can be, but we need your help. With your support we’ll be able to bring Flter to market and make it available for everyone. We are raising $50,000 to meet manufacturing requirements and volume in order to mass produce Flter and make it affordable. We have suppliers and manufactures in Shenzhen China ready to start production, all we need is you.

Together, we can make Flter a reality. With your support, we truly believe we can achieve our goal, to make your online experience, yours again.

By backing Flter you are helping us bring to life something that we've been working around the clock on for the last year. As a token of our gratitude, any backer that shares this campaign on social media will receive a key-shaped water & shock proof USB thumb drive. Please share by clicking the social media links on this page or in any way you can. Send us a message and we'll include this USB key with your Flter device.

We want to create an ecosystem of apps that run on Flter and our future devices. This may seem strange and you may be asking yourself, “Why would I want apps on my router?” But we believe routers are actually the ideal devices for this. Routers are low-powered, always on, and connected to the internet. We want to be able to provide developers with a platform to create new and innovative apps which we can all support in the Flter community. Backers have the opportunity to be active participants in the software development process and help us decide which apps we create first!

Risks and challenges

Coordinating with manufacturers to bring Flter from prototype to production may be challenging. We have prepared for this by speaking with the manufacturing companies we will be using ahead of time to get a clear idea of what the process will be like so most potential issues have already been assessed. Building computer hardware comes with it’s own inherent risks but we have a ready-to-use mould and our suppliers have already been pre-selected. This guarantees we can stick to our planned timeline.

For our backers that require overseas shipping, we promise to deal with international customs in advance so as to provide you with a clear idea of when you will receive your product.

Being clear and precise with our supporters and backers is important to us. We strive to provide top-notch customer service, so please feel free to reach out to us about any concerns you may have and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Suggestions and feedback are welcome too!